


Familial Affections

by Shi_Toyu



Series: Emotions [7]
Category: Iron Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Acceptance, Families of Choice, Family, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-25
Updated: 2016-06-25
Packaged: 2018-07-18 04:23:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7299439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shi_Toyu/pseuds/Shi_Toyu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony sits with Hela and Jor, watching Loki and his other kids just enjoy themselves. No matter what Loki might have to say on the matter, Tony is pretty sure it's a magical moment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Familial Affections

**Author's Note:**

> So sorry it took me so long to get this final piece of the series out. At least it's here now!

Tony lay back against the tree, Hela perched beside him. She had summoned up a throne-like chair of twining roots and reclined in it as though she were overseeing her kingdom. One of the grand fields surrounding Tony’s Midwestern ranch home spread out before them, Sleipnir and Fenrir running about with their father. Loki had transformed into some animal Tony couldn’t even begin to name and the three looked as though they were having great fun. Jor was looped through the branches of the tree above them, wrapping around it like an extremely long string of Christmas lights.

“We owe you a great debt, you know,” Hela suddenly said from beside him. “We could never have hoped to be reunited with our father if it weren’t for you. Sleipnir was trapped upon Asgard, ever watched, and Fenrir surely could not have escaped the cage he’d been thrown into. Even Jormungandr, who was here upon Midgard, could not make contact with Father for fear of Asgard’s reaction.”

Tony shifted a bit.

“Hey, I, uh, didn’t really do that much. Thor did all the heavy lifting.”

Hela smiled indulgently, clearly stating without words that Tony could tell himself whatever he liked but she knew the truth.

“Of course, but Thor would not have traveled that path if you had not asked him to. Our uncle has come a long way but questioning Asgard is still a difficulty for him.”

Tony pursed his lips and looked away.

“Why are you even bringing this up? It’s been over a year now.”

Jor’s large head dipped down into his view, tongue flickering out far enough to nearly lick Tony’s face.

“Because it has taken us that long to finally get your measure, Tony Stark,” the serpent stated. “You are unpredictable, for a human.”

“You know what, I’m going to take that as a compliment.”

Hela laughed.

“We are Loki’s children. Of course it is a compliment.”

Tony grinned, awkwardness forgotten now that they were on safer topics.

“He does like to keep people guessing, doesn’t he?”

“It is what he is best at,” Jor agreed. “There is a joy to it now, though, that I cannot remember Father having since I was very young.”

Hela hummed in agreement.

“You are right. Father is lighter in spirit than he has been in a very long time. His tricks hold no malice anymore.”

“Are you kidding me? He _demolished_ that Blue Star compound last month. What about that _wasn’t_ full of malice?”

Hela was too regal to sniff haughtily, but she still managed to make her judgment of Tony quite clear.

“That was no trick. They dared touch what was his and he rightly punished them for it.”

“Clint didn’t even have to go to Medical.”

“You say that as if it matters in the slightest.”

Tony stared at her for a moment before snorting and leaning back against the tree again with a chuckle.

“You space Vikings are all insane, I swear. I’m pretty sure your go-to strategy for fixing any problem is ‘kill it.’”

Hela considered his words for a moment.

“Well, you’re not wrong. We are a society of warriors. It is in our blood.”

Jor dropped more of his body to the ground and slithered over to place his head in Tony’s lap, twisting so that the genius was presented with the underside of his jaw for scratching.

“There is a certain efficiency to it, you must admit. Besides, at least we generally wait for the other side to strike first before we wipe them from the Nine Realms completely.”

“And we do go to great lengths with diplomacy. It is only once war is declared or our own are harmed that we draw our swords. Part of the difference you see, I believe, is that we do not go into it with only half our hearts. When we fight, we aim to finish it.”

“How very Ender’s Game of you. Don’t aim to just end this fight but aim to win all the fights to follow.”

“Precisely.”

Her grin was all teeth.

“You should understand the philosophy,” Jor added. “You follow the same one. Father has told us of the enemies who have gone up against you personally. You do not just beat your foes. You put them down so that they may not come back to hurt you again.”

“To be fair, they don’t usually give me a choice.”

“Do not mistake it as a bad thing. It is a badge of great honor that you are able to defend your family. You care for us as we care for you. There is no doubt in my mind that you would rise in defense of my father or any of my siblings,” the serpent continued. “Just as we would rise in your defense. We are family, Tony Stark, and family stands together.”

Tony could do absolutely nothing to stop the sappy smile that crossed his face.

“Well, you sure do know how to make a fella feel special.”

“And you excel at avoiding a compliment.”

Tony might have accused her of pouting if he didn’t value his own life.

“What can I say? We all have our talents.”

They fell into a companionable silence for a while, just watching the other three run and tumble across the field. With the sun out and the gentle breeze, Tony could hardly remember a time he had felt so peaceful. For certain, he could remember Loki’s reaction the first time he had set eyes on his children again after so many years separated from them. The god had cried, _cried_ , as he wrapped his children up in his arms as best he could and clung to them as if for dear life. He hadn’t managed words for nearly ten minutes. Tony had honestly been a little worried they’d broken the guy.

It was the one and only time Tony had seen Loki so much as misty eyed. It spoke to just how he had longed for his children. Tony knew Loki had resigned himself to never seeing Fenrir or Jor again, to only seeing Hela maybe once every century, and laying eyes upon Sleipnir only if Odin rode him out to wherever Loki was. Unlikely. He’d actually initiated an embrace with Thor, too, which lasted for quite some time, once he learned of Thor’s part in the whole thing.

Tony had tried to slip away at the time, in order to give the family their privacy, but none of them were having any of that. As soon as they noticed Tony edging toward an exit, they pulled him into the middle of their little love fest. He’d still felt a bit like he was intruding, but he was able to push that feeling aside for the sake of the celebratory mood. He didn’t feel like that anymore, though. He hadn’t felt like he’d been intruding in a while, actually.

“So,” he mused, “family, huh?”

The look Hela sent him clearly questioned his level of intelligence.

“I am not sure whether having to ask that makes you unworthy of my father or just proves how well suited for him you are.”

Tony grinned at her.

“Yeah, totally family.”

“Good,” Jor grumbled from his lap, sounding half-asleep. “If you didn’t return my father’s affection I’d have to eat you and there’s little doubt in my mind that you would cause truly horrible indigestion.”

Tony laughed.


End file.
